Berlin palliative care doctor convicted of 15 murders – 76 further cases under investigation
A Berlin regional court has found a German doctor guilty of murdering 15 patients. The prosecution is investigating 76 further cases.
Doctor killed patients with medication mixture – Berlin court convicts on 15 counts of murder
A Berlin palliative care doctor has been convicted by the Berlin Regional Court of 15 counts of murder. According to SRF, the physician administered a lethal mixture of various medications to twelve women and three men between 2021 and 2024. The youngest victim was 25 years old, the oldest 94. All those affected suffered from serious illnesses, but their deaths were not imminent.
The court followed the prosecution's application in delivering its verdict. The defence had argued against the determination of particularly serious guilt and against subsequent preventive detention.
After months of silence, the doctor unexpectedly confessed on 25 June, saying he had killed twelve seriously ill patients during house calls. In his statement, he claimed he had convinced himself that he was doing the right thing and was sparing the patients "suffering and decline". At the conclusion of the trial, he apologised again to the bereaved relatives.
The married doctor, father of a primary school child, has been in custody since early August 2024. The investigation was triggered by fires that he is said to have set to cover up the killings. Initially, the authorities investigated him for arson resulting in death.
According to the prosecution, tips from the care service for which the suspect had worked increasingly brought him into focus. The Berlin State Criminal Police established an investigation task force from its homicide division, which reviewed hundreds of patient records. In April 2025, the prosecution finally filed charges in 15 cases against the man, who was born in Frankfurt am Main and had been described by patients, relatives and colleagues as empathetic.
The prosecution is investigating 76 further cases, according to its own statements, and expects to file further charges later this year. In his final statement before the court, the doctor announced: "I will engage much earlier in the forthcoming proceedings." The case could become one of the largest of its kind in Germany.
Source: SRF